
Our Pillars
InCommOn’s approach of addressing urban issues is holistic, emphasises circularity, and is based on the following three pillars:
EQUALITY & SOCIAL INCLUSION
We are against any form of social exclusion based on age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religious faith, disability, social and economic standing. Non-discrimination is not only a principle reflected in our our hiring process and internal work protocols but we also actively promote equality and social inclusion in the projects that we organize for, and, alongside the communities that we work with.
ACTIVE COMMUNITIES
Addressing complex and challenging urban crises does not only depend on the state or private companies but requires active citizens who will bring attention to their neighborhoods’ problems, mobilize people and resources, and campaign for change. Lack of engagement with the commons renders any urban problem more acute and we therefore make a point to promote active citizenship in our projects.
ENVIRONMENTAL REGENERATION
Global urban growth has led to the accumulation of tremendous amounts of waste and pollution and to an ever-growing number of premature deaths, poverty, serious environmental disruption, and overall poor quality of life. Our goal is to tackle environmental degradation, achieve greener and cleaner natural surroundings, and make more livable the urban environment οf the communities that we work in.
Projects
1. Kyklos: the Lab of InCommOn
Kyklos, the Lab of InCommOn, is the first initiative in Greece to open a public dialogue about the relationship of the circular economy with urban reality and strives to observe and understand, in practice, how a neighborhood – the ‘cell’ of a city – can become ‘circular’. We investigate ideas to work towards making our neighbourhood more green, clean and sustainable and attempt to tackle the root causes as well as the consequences of the climate crisis through local, small-scale, community-based actions.
Making the most of all available resources, whether natural or material, while keeping a human-based approach /, we promote and practice the values and practices of circular economy. In contrast to the dominant linear economy model (take-make-consume-dispose), the circular economy is inspired by biological circles and is based on a dynamic cycle of use and regeneration that leaves nothing and no-one out. In this way, we seek to minimise resource waste and the environmental, economic and social impacts of our current way of life. We develop and improve daily life by finding creative solutions to shared local problems, on a collective and individual level by working with the community and all stakeholders (residents, businesses, institutions etc).
2. Kafsimo
The KaFsimo project is InCommOn’s innovative, participative coffee recycling scheme which aims to change the public’s habits around organic waste, and recycle ‘used’ coffee. It is the first participatory coffee recycling project in Greece.
KaFsimo’s aim and vision is to encourage a behavioral change around the use, reuse and disposal of organic waste, through active citizenship; in particular to prepare the public for the correct use of organic waste brown bins so that organic household waste is turned into compost.
Kafsimo implements a process through which not only will the ‘waste’ be transformed into a useful material (compost), but it will also reduce the amount of organic waste dumped in landfill and will necessitate separation of the organic materials from others (e.g. packaging), which can then be recycled separately. At the same time, the project collects used coffee grounds from a network of coffee shops as well as household spent coffee grounds and aims to utilise this residue by transforming it from waste into raw material for the production of bioenergy (to heat buildings) or land fertilizer. In this way, the ‘coffee circle’ is closed at a local level.
3. FoodTreasure
FoodTreasure is an educational project that familiarizes the whole school community with the sector of the circular economy through the case study of food and food waste, elements common to everyone. It aims to make learning about organic waste issues not only fun and interactive, but also formative in changing habits and introducing life-long ecological behaviors.
4. Circular Economy Venture
Showcase project -based at the based at the Urban Sustainability & Circularity Lab -through which issues such as food costs, food waste, use of fossil fuels, the need for a green economy and the economic viability of an environmentally sustainable business will be discussed, publicised and addressed.
5. School competitions “Playing in circular economy orbit”
Bringing the circular economy into the school community! InCommOn’s school competitions-approved by the Ministry of Education- invites students (aged 6-18) across Greece (from public and private schools) to explore and discover the principles of the circular economy and create ideas for practical ways in which their schools can become more circular!
6. Eco-Friendly Supported Housing Project: “Filoxenia”
During the years 2016-2018, social housing was provided for refugees and homeless people in Evosmos, Thessaloniki. The project was based on the model of co-habitation, which involved participatory planning, inclusive decision-making and co-implementation of ideas and plans, combining an eco-friendly perspective with the minimal carbon footprint, utilising waste management systems and promoting environmental education activities. For more information, visit filoxenia.incommon.gr
7. Social Hub @ Evosmos. Inclusion, Environment, Power
During the years 2017 and 2018, Filoxenia operated a Community Centre in Evosmos, Thessaloniki, with educational, cultural and environmental activities for all ages, designed and implemented by and for the users of the centre.
8. Landscape
In 2017, Filoxenia organised and carried out Daily Mobile Actions to raise awareness and inform citizens of Northern Greece about immigration due to economic, political and environmental factors.
9. Close the Food Circle
The project “Close the food circle” is a community activation project leading the path to the circular economy transition. It seeks to co-design with the Municipality – starting from Papagos-Cholargos – the tools for the effective management of a new recycling system, that of organic waste.
10. Biorural
The BioRural project is working to develop a transitional framework towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and circular Bioeconomy across all Europe and to support innovators to introduce small-scale bio-based solutions in rural areas. BioRural is set to bridge the gap between available bio-based innovations and European citizens’ everyday life. The project promotes the exchange of knowledge and investigates the business opportunities for rural development. In total, 19 partners,...
11. COM-Circular Organic Management
The COM-Circular Organic Management is an ERASMUS+ project that aims to support the behavioral change in schools around food and organic waste.